Whitehouse flocked Chapel Hill’s Andrew Black in the backfield on fourth down, driving the quarterback into the ground and ripping one of his shoes off — which bounced around like a loose ball.

The Wildcats needed only three plays to move the ball the other direction to the end zone, setting the stage for a rout.

In the 26th installment of the Lake Tyler Rivalry, Whitehouse took over the in third quarter en route to throttling Chapel Hill 38-14 in front of an estimated 10,000 fans on Friday night at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. The Wildcats scored 21 points in the quarter to take a 38-14 lead into the fourth, earning their 10th victory in the past 12 meetings between the teams.

With the win, Whitehouse (2-0) avenged last season’s 59-49 loss to eventual Class 3A Division I state champion Chapel Hill (0-2), which leads the overall series 14-10-2. In that matchup the teams combined for 108 points and 1,162 yards, which increased the anticipation for this week’s ETFinalScore.com Game of the Week.

It was all Whitehouse this time around, though.

“I think the defense set the tone for the night,” Wildcats coach Randy McFarlin said. “They scored on two big plays on us, but several times they had opportunies on our side of the field and the defense stepped up. We are going to be a very good offense, and combine that with an improved defensive team, it’s going to be a great season.”

Whitehouse junior quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Cheatham rotated quarters, putting their respective abilities on the display for the second straight week. Mahomes completed 15 of 23 passes for 256 yards and three scores in the first and third quarters, while Cheatham utilized his running abilities to produce 93 yards on 10 carries while also passing for 114 yards and a touchdown (two interceptions).

“It’s worked out so far and we will keep doing what we have to do to win,” Mahomes said. “If we keep winning it doesn’t matter. When I come in I try to do the best I can. We offer two different kinds of football and it kind of confuses defenses sometimes. They gameplan for both of us and I know that’s hard.”

Whitehouse senior receiver Dylan Cantrell, a Texas Tech pledge, finished the night with nine receptions for 172 yards and a pair of 37-yard touchdowns. Wildcats junior running back Vincent Dunning added 80 yards on three carries, which included a 51-yard dash to the end zone with eight seconds remaining in the third to make it a 24-point game.

All told, Whitehouse finished the night with 170 yards rushing a week after struggling on the ground in a 35-18 win against Hallsville.

“We actually cut back on the running game and had only two running plays,” McFarlin said. “We said let’s run these two plays and make it work and obviously that worked for us.”

Chapel Hill, meanwhile, struggled to move the ball through the air all night, producing its only points on a pair of big plays — a 39-yard pass from Andrew Black to Jamarcus McCowin and a 69-yard run by Joseph Clark. The Bulldogs were hit hard by graduation last spring — and the aftermath has been rough.

“Right now the only thing I know to do is tell the kids we have to come out here and be the best team we can be,” said Sitton, whose Bulldogs have been to back-to-back state finals. “We’ve got to work. We have to worker harder than anybody in the state of Texas.”

Clark finished with nine carries for 143 yards.

Whitehouse led 17-7 at halftime and then pulled away in the third quarter, producing 21 points on a pair of Mahomes to Jaylon Dews connections (50 and 4 yards) and Dunning’s 51-yard scamper.

Cantrell had a huge first half — seven catches for 142 yards — to help lead Whitehouse into the break with a 17-7 lead. Cantrell’s first scoring reception came from Mahomes with 50 seconds left in the first quarter, while his second came from Cheatham with :14 to play in the second.

Cheatham, the Wildcats’ third and fourth quarter signal caller, threw a pair of interceptions in the half, but redeemed himself with eight carries for 77 yards and completed 8 of 13 passes for 102 yards.

Mahomes finished the first quarter 5 of 10 for 77 yards and a TD.

Chapel Hill scored when Black found JaMarcus McCowin wide open down the sideline on fourth-and-9. The 39-yard touchdown put the Bulldogs ahead for the first time with 1:17 left in the first, but Whitehouse answered back 27 seconds later when Mahomes found Cantrell wide going the opposite direction on the same side of the field.